what have Hill parents demanded of middle schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The way Watkins deals with the Basis/Washington Latin departures for 5th grade is to go from 5 sections of 4th grade to 4 sections of 5th grade.

Slightly off-topic: Why are charter middle schools (Basis and Latin) allowed to start at 5th grade when that grade is still part of the elementary school in DCPS? It seems like charter schools that start in middle grades should be made to start at the same grade as DCPS middle schools so as not to undermine the 5th grade in DCPS elementary schools.
I am quite happy that my kids got a chance to enter a charter in fifth grade - they were better served that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I get the post at 12:54. The closest schools to SH are Ludlow-Taylor, Peabody, JO Wilson, and Capitol Hill Montessori. Those are the "neighborhood" elementary schools. The closest schools to Eliot-Hine include Maury. The closest schools to Jefferson include Brent (even though it is very far away). This isn't to say all of these boundaries/feeders shouldn't be entirely reconsidered, but I'm not sure I get the argument that Stuart-Hobson is supposed to be the middle school for historic Capitol Hill only.

I think the point being made is that boundaries and feeders need to be reassessed, which DCPS has refused to do in the past. A number of Hill schools used to feed to Hine, which no longer exists (albeit with no great loss), and parents have to deal with a broken feeder pattern. As long as the DCPS system purports to be neighborhood-based, the question is what is the best for the neighborhood. Clearly, SH and its current crop of feeders are not drawing from the neighborhood. And how does this get fixed now that CHM@L is going to a PS-8 format and SWS has lost its SH feeder pattern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SH is not strictly-speaking a "Ward 6" school. It is supposed to be a neighborhood school that serves the families living in the nearby area. The same is true for the two other middle schools located in Ward 6, namely Jefferson and EH. As presently constituted, approximately 19 percent of SH students are IB and 54 percent are FARMS eligible. This is not surprising given the OOB percentages for Watkins, JO Wilson and Ludlow-Taylor. As I am not aware of any former Brent students who attend SH, and must assume that few former Maury students opted to attend, SH simply is not meeting its obligation to serve as a neighborhood school for the vast majority of Capitol Hill families living within a ten block radius of the school. And, yes, I do not consider H Street to be Capitol Hill, much less Rosedale or "Hill East."

"Hill East"? Depends on how far east, Kingman Park may be borderline, but virtually everything to the west of it is Capitol Hill. Hill East used to just refer to the eastern edge of the historic district, but that distinction is less relevant as the areas have changed over time. Even Barney Circle is generally considered the Hill.

Maury and Brent are both phyiscally closer to SH than Watkins, but that's not the overriding factor. The boundary for SH is deliberately microscopic becuase the system favors feeders over inboundary students. The broader Hill community can only access SH by living within the tiny boundary (smaller than the Cluster boundary), by OOB lottery, or by attending Watkins through 5th with its larger Cluster boundary and easier OOB space and then rising to SH. If Watkins is a preference that's fine, but for many Hill residents SH does not serve as a true community school unless you ignore the many public school alternatives and enroll in the Cluster for ES. We'll take our chances with charters for MS before being forced into an ES school which is not our preference.

I get it. People who overpayed for a rowhouse at 16th and F NE (or pick some other location) want to brag that they live on Capitol Hill. Captiol Hill does not magically expand with the passage of time merely because surrounding blocks continue to gentrify. In any event, I think we all understand that the Cluster rigged the system to prioritize its constituency over IB populations that were formerly predominately AA and low income. The model has proven to be a failure.

PP here -- and you're wrong -- I live well within the Historic District. Who makes you (or me for that matter) the arbitor of what neighborhood someone lives in? Close enough to walk or bike to a play date? In my book you live on the Hill

the model at SH is not different than the model at Deal. Schools that feed get priority. It's a systemwide problem and not unique to the Hill. Deal is benefitting from critical mass of good NW schools feeding it. SH is smaller and not able to accommodate as many nearby good schools. Catania's guaging interest in a test-in MS in Anacostia -- that may be the trade off for Hill families to gain a high performing DCPS MS EoRCP. It may not be ideal but it beats Eliot Hine and Jefferson as they stand today

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way Watkins deals with the Basis/Washington Latin departures for 5th grade is to go from 5 sections of 4th grade to 4 sections of 5th grade.

Slightly off-topic: Why are charter middle schools (Basis and Latin) allowed to start at 5th grade when that grade is still part of the elementary school in DCPS? It seems like charter schools that start in middle grades should be made to start at the same grade as DCPS middle schools so as not to undermine the 5th grade in DCPS elementary schools.

I am quite happy that my kids got a chance to enter a charter in fifth grade - they were better served that way.

To give time to people who don't like their charter options a year to reassess before 6th grade I wouldn't count on the charter lottery for 6th if shut out for 5th.

That's the only benefit, but that's not why the charter schools do it. They claim they want the extra time to prop up the many deficient students they received from DCPS. They see it as an intervention. Some charter also take undue credit for successful students even when the kids are practically gift wrapped by their previous schools (charter or DCPS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I get the post at 12:54. The closest schools to SH are Ludlow-Taylor, Peabody, JO Wilson, and Capitol Hill Montessori. Those are the "neighborhood" elementary schools. The closest schools to Eliot-Hine include Maury. The closest schools to Jefferson include Brent (even though it is very far away). This isn't to say all of these boundaries/feeders shouldn't be entirely reconsidered, but I'm not sure I get the argument that Stuart-Hobson is supposed to be the middle school for historic Capitol Hill only.

I think the point being made is that boundaries and feeders need to be reassessed, which DCPS has refused to do in the past. A number of Hill schools used to feed to Hine, which no longer exists (albeit with no great loss), and parents have to deal with a broken feeder pattern. As long as the DCPS system purports to be neighborhood-based, the question is what is the best for the neighborhood. Clearly, SH and its current crop of feeders are not drawing from the neighborhood. And how does this get fixed now that CHM@L is going to a PS-8 format and SWS has lost its SH feeder pattern?

SWS never had a SH feeder. It fed into Watkins which had a SH feed. You could argue SWS shouldn't get a feed as a citywide school, but that's unlikely. It will probably just nominally feed to Eliot Hine and no one will use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way Watkins deals with the Basis/Washington Latin departures for 5th grade is to go from 5 sections of 4th grade to 4 sections of 5th grade.

Slightly off-topic: Why are charter middle schools (Basis and Latin) allowed to start at 5th grade when that grade is still part of the elementary school in DCPS? It seems like charter schools that start in middle grades should be made to start at the same grade as DCPS middle schools so as not to undermine the 5th grade in DCPS elementary schools.

I am quite happy that my kids got a chance to enter a charter in fifth grade - they were better served that way.

To give time to people who don't like their charter options a year to reassess before 6th grade I wouldn't count on the charter lottery for 6th if shut out for 5th.

That's the only benefit, but that's not why the charter schools do it. They claim they want the extra time to prop up the many deficient students they received from DCPS. They see it as an intervention. Some charter also take undue credit for successful students even when the kids are practically gift wrapped by their previous schools (charter or DCPS).

Until 2 or 3 years ago, Stuart Hobson was 5-8. A decision was made (by whom?) to move 5th grade to Watkins. There have always been wild decisions about when middle school/junior high should end and begin -- nationwide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Until 2 or 3 years ago, Stuart Hobson was 5-8. A decision was made (by whom?) to move 5th grade to Watkins. There have always been wild decisions about when middle school/junior high should end and begin -- nationwide.

It was a space issue at Watkins. When CH Montessori was no longer co-located at Watkins, Watkins had the space to add 5th grade, with the added goal of easing space concerns at SH with 3 grades instead of 4. Since Watkins/SH were both part of the Cap Hill Cluster, it was still viewed as contiguous

[Anonymous]

I get it. People who overpayed for a rowhouse at 16th and F NE (or pick some other location) want to brag that they live on Capitol Hill...

Funny, this pops up every once in a while, but makes very little sense.

First of all, there is no 16th & F, NE. But lets take a house near 15th and C SE. Which is still Hill East. If we take someone who bought at the absolute Peak of the Peak--Feb of 2007--they would have seen a rise in home equity from $567k to about $700k today.

That means tomorrow they could walk away with $140k in equity--if they wanted to. How have they "overpayed" [sic] exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SH is not strictly-speaking a "Ward 6" school. It is supposed to be a neighborhood school that serves the families living in the nearby area. The same is true for the two other middle schools located in Ward 6, namely Jefferson and EH. As presently constituted, approximately 19 percent of SH students are IB and 54 percent are FARMS eligible. This is not surprising given the OOB percentages for Watkins, JO Wilson and Ludlow-Taylor. As I am not aware of any former Brent students who attend SH, and must assume that few former Maury students opted to attend, SH simply is not meeting its obligation to serve as a neighborhood school for the vast majority of Capitol Hill families living within a ten block radius of the school. And, yes, I do not consider H Street to be Capitol Hill, much less Rosedale or "Hill East."

"Hill East"? Depends on how far east, Kingman Park may be borderline, but virtually everything to the west of it is Capitol Hill. Hill East used to just refer to the eastern edge of the historic district, but that distinction is less relevant as the areas have changed over time. Even Barney Circle is generally considered the Hill.

Maury and Brent are both phyiscally closer to SH than Watkins, but that's not the overriding factor. The boundary for SH is deliberately microscopic becuase the system favors feeders over inboundary students. The broader Hill community can only access SH by living within the tiny boundary (smaller than the Cluster boundary), by OOB lottery, or by attending Watkins through 5th with its larger Cluster boundary and easier OOB space and then rising to SH. If Watkins is a preference that's fine, but for many Hill residents SH does not serve as a true community school unless you ignore the many public school alternatives and enroll in the Cluster for ES. We'll take our chances with charters for MS before being forced into an ES school which is not our preference.

I get it. People who overpayed for a rowhouse at 16th and F NE (or pick some other location) want to brag that they live on Capitol Hill. Captiol Hill does not magically expand with the passage of time merely because surrounding blocks continue to gentrify. In any event, I think we all understand that the Cluster rigged the system to prioritize its constituency over IB populations that were formerly predominately AA and low income. The model has proven to be a failure.

PP here -- and you're wrong -- I live well within the Historic District. Who makes you (or me for that matter) the arbitor of what neighborhood someone lives in? Close enough to walk or bike to a play date? In my book you live on the Hill

the model at SH is not different than the model at Deal. Schools that feed get priority. It's a systemwide problem and not unique to the Hill. Deal is benefitting from critical mass of good NW schools feeding it. SH is smaller and not able to accommodate as many nearby good schools. Catania's guaging interest in a test-in MS in Anacostia -- that may be the trade off for Hill families to gain a high performing DCPS MS EoRCP. It may not be ideal but it beats Eliot Hine and Jefferson as they stand today

Are you kidding? This is the same dipshit who thinks someone who bought a house and made more than $150k on it in less than 5 years has "overpayed" [sic] for it.

[Anonymous]

First of all, there is no 16th & F, NE. But lets take a house near 15th and C SE. Which is still Hill East. If we take someone who bought at the absolute Peak of the Peak--Feb of 2007--they would have seen a rise in home equity from $567k to about $700k today.

That means tomorrow they could walk away with $140k in equity--if they wanted to. How have they "overpayed" [sic] exactly?

By virtue of the fact that you are full of pony manure. No house at that location has appreciated 25% since 2007. Prices are flat over your stated time period. Really though, your hypothetical buyer is hosed by transaction costs if he sells tomorrow. Nice try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

First of all, there is no 16th & F, NE. But lets take a house near 15th and C SE. Which is still Hill East. If we take someone who bought at the absolute Peak of the Peak--Feb of 2007--they would have seen a rise in home equity from $567k to about $700k today.

That means tomorrow they could walk away with $140k in equity--if they wanted to. How have they "overpayed" [sic] exactly?

By virtue of the fact that you are full of pony manure. No house at that location has appreciated 25% since 2007. Prices are flat over your stated time period. Really though, your hypothetical buyer is hosed by transaction costs if he sells tomorrow. Nice try.

Picked this one at random:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1528-A-St-NE-Washington-DC-20002/425781_zpid/

Feb 2007: $400k
Current estimate: $540k

This isn't particularly outstanding for hill east. You don't seem to know much about the market. Perhaps you're thinking of Dumfries or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The way Watkins deals with the Basis/Washington Latin departures for 5th grade is to go from 5 sections of 4th grade to 4 sections of 5th grade.

Slightly off-topic: Why are charter middle schools (Basis and Latin) allowed to start at 5th grade when that grade is still part of the elementary school in DCPS? It seems like charter schools that start in middle grades should be made to start at the same grade as DCPS middle schools so as not to undermine the 5th grade in DCPS elementary schools. [/quote

You misunderstand. Most DCPS schools are abysmal at 5th grade. Many are simply ok. None offer the quality and depth of curriculum offered at Latin and Basis. By "not allowing" these schools to begin in 5th grade, it would be wasting another year of some kids' education.

[Anonymous]

If DCPS wants those kids in 5th they need to earn it, not mess with successful charters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I get it. People who overpayed for a rowhouse at 16th and F NE (or pick some other location) want to brag that they live on Capitol Hill...

Funny, this pops up every once in a while, but makes very little sense.

First of all, there is no 16th & F, NE. But lets take a house near 15th and C SE. Which is still Hill East. If we take someone who bought at the absolute Peak of the Peak--Feb of 2007--they would have seen a rise in home equity from $567k to about $700k today.

That means tomorrow they could walk away with $140k in equity--if they wanted to. How have they "overpayed" [sic] exactly?

Ah yes, 2007 @ 15th and C SE. Drive-bys, spent bullet casings, broken crack pipes, armed robberies and burglaries. Not exactly a place for a bucolic walk after dark. Turn the clock forward six years. Still conveniently located with proximity to Potomac Gardens and Kentucky Court. Residents and their children still being menaced at the Payne Rec Center. 37 aggravated assaults, robberies and other non-property crimes classified as violent within 1500 feet over the past 12 months. I also pretty sure homeowners Glen and Laurie didn't chip away at their $100K in equity with a HELOC in order to fix the place up. PT Barnum hit the nail on the head.

[Anonymous]

http://dcist.com/2007/05/capitol_hill_cr.php